


The Price of Joy

by TheTravelerWrites



Series: Writing Prompts and Drabbles [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Agoraphobia, Demon, Depression, Exophilia, Human/Monster Romance, Other, Reader Insert, Reader-Insert, Teratophilia, human/demon, human/monster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 12:31:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16810678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTravelerWrites/pseuds/TheTravelerWrites
Summary: A person suffering from crippling depression summons a demon on a whim.





	The Price of Joy

The demon standing before you watched you sit there on the floor, shoulders hunched and staring upward at it, blank-faced, with a distantly bemused expression.

"You have gone to great lengths to summon me, and yet you ask for nothing?"

You shrugged in a noncommittal way. "I didn't think it would actually work. I did it just to see if i could do it. Now that you're here, I don't even know what I would ask for."

"You gifted me one year of your life in return for my conjuring. You are owed. I cannot take my leave of this place until the debt is settled."

"You can go, it doesn't matter."

"That is not how this transaction is conducted."

"It's not a transaction. You can have the year. I won't be needing it anyway."

It was silent a moment, considering you with a slightly tilted head.

"There _is_ something you want, is there not?"

You sighed and stood from where you knelt in front of the sigil you had carved into your floor. The landlord wouldn't be happy about that, but you didn't care. You went to the window and stared out, leaning against the window pane with your arms folded.

"When I was young," you said slowly. "I was a different person. I understood things. I had a plan and a purpose. I used to be so full of... life. Hope. People liked being around me because I was fun and cheerful. I felt happy nearly all the time."

You watched two kids chase each other under a street light, laughing and oblivious. It inspired no feeling in you. Not nostalgia or envy or longing or regret. Just a sinking emptiness.

"I don't feel anything anymore. I don't feel sad or angry, like I used to after... well, after. I'm numb. Nothing feels like it's supposed to. Hell, summoning you should have scared the shit out of me, but here I am talking to you like your my goddamn therapist."

It continued to watch you, questioning in its silence without interrupting.

"I used to dance, you know," you whispered. "I used to sing. I had so much... joy." You looked back at the dark figure standing in the circle of candles, waiting patiently. "That's what I want. I want joy and love and light back. I want to feel how I did ten years ago, before the world went to shit. I want to have enough motivation to leave this crappy apartment for some other reason than I ran out of ramen and coke. I want to feel something besides... nothing."

It held its hands out at its sides, fingers splayed, in a gesture of apology. "I am afraid I cannot grant your request."

" _Why?_ " You asked, your voice breaking in desperation. "You said I was owed. What else do you need? Another year? I would gladly give you the rest of my life for just one day of peace. I want to laugh again, just one more time, before it's over." Tears coursed down your face as you knelt again, linking your fingers as if praying, which was something you'd never done. You looked up at the thing you summoned and pleaded, "Please. Please."

"I cannot grant you something with which I am unfamiliar. I have never known joy, therefore it is not a gift I can give. Perhaps if you could explain it to me, I could be of more assistance."

You gulped back your tears and rested your clasped hands in your lap.

"How could I possibly explain an emotion to you?" You asked helplessly.

"I am uncertain," the entity admitted. "Perhaps you could show me. Would that be possible?"

You shrugged, at a loss. "I don't know... maybe? I could show you other people who are happy, but happiness is subjective; it's different from person to person. What would make one person happy might make another miserable. People find happiness in all kinds of things."

"I see," it said thoughtfully. It held out its hand to you, and you took it, rising up from the floor. "Perhaps, by studying others, I may understand better. But perhaps you might find your joy all on your own. And what will I do then, unable to settle my debt?"

You sniffled and attempted to smile. It felt strange on your face. It had been some time since the last one, after all.

"Maybe you could just stay for a little while," you suggested. "It's been a long time since I've had a friend."

You thought it was smiling back, but you couldn't tell. "Another concept with which I am unfamiliar. I believe I may learn much from you."

It's hand still lay in your own, so you pulled it toward the kitchen. "Right now I'm going to teach you how to make ramen, so buckle up, we're gonna hit the ground running on this one."

"I don't understand."

"It's okay. We'll learn."


End file.
